Elementary (K-6) and high schools (10-12) are very solid.  Middle schools (7-9) throughout Israel are problematic and there is a trend to attach them to high schools.  

Jerusalem Mayor, Nir Barkat, believes an outstanding education system will attract young Israeli parents to Jerusalem.  Annually, he surveys Jerusalem’s parents of high school students to rank Jerusalem’s high schools.  Annually, IASA scores first by a significant margin.   Mayor Barkat has always enthusiastically supported IASA and strongly encouraged IASA to open a middle school.  IASA’s management believes by providing its middle school with new methodologies and curricula, it will provide the leadership for the rest of Jerusalem’s middle schools to follow.  Once this occurs, the rest of the country is sure to follow.   IASA-MS will provide a brilliant example of what the potential is for middle schools. 

IASA is located in the valley between two lower socioeconomic neighborhoods.  One of them, Kiryat Menacham, is in the process of rejuvenation. The nearest school to IASA in Kiryat Menacham is the Guatemala Elementary School.  It was built for 800 students and its current enrollment is less than 300.  It is a school which needs immediate strengthening.

In the summer of 2017, IASA announced it would open the 7th grade of IASA-Middle School with two classes of 30 students each.  Within the first week, 280 applications were received.  The school is temporarily housed in the Guatemala School until it adds 8th and 9th grades.  At that time, the Ministry of Education has agreed to build IASA-MS on IASA’s Schusterman Campus.

During this three year period, IASA-MS will be strongly interacting with the faculty and students of the Guatemala School to help strengthen it.  During these three years, every effort will be made to make the Guatemala School a desired destination for students.  IASA-MS is already the first school in Israel performing Community Service, including mentoring Guatemala School students.